If you're like us, it's November and your child's school is telling the story of the Pilgrims and dressing your kids up as Indians.
What I find interesting is they don't dress our kids up as Chinese for Chinese New Year, or as Irishmen for St Patrick's Day, or as Jesus for Easter.
So why is the feather wearing Indian perpetuated in classrooms?
Three words: Lack of education.
Teachers, parents and school districts all stick with 'tradition' and forgo the meaning we are actually teaching our kids.
As a Native American I've learned which battles to fight and which to let go.
The one I won't, especially during November, is to urge YOU, my readers,
to educate yourselves AND your families.
Become aware and teach others.
Here are some great shows that teach a whole world of understanding!
What I find interesting is they don't dress our kids up as Chinese for Chinese New Year, or as Irishmen for St Patrick's Day, or as Jesus for Easter.
So why is the feather wearing Indian perpetuated in classrooms?
Three words: Lack of education.
Teachers, parents and school districts all stick with 'tradition' and forgo the meaning we are actually teaching our kids.
As a Native American I've learned which battles to fight and which to let go.
The one I won't, especially during November, is to urge YOU, my readers,
to educate yourselves AND your families.
Become aware and teach others.
Here are some great shows that teach a whole world of understanding!
PBS honors the history and contributions of Native Americans, with a great lineup of new and encore programs that entertain while examining the history and cultural contributions of Native Americans.  This new programming is bolstered by encore programming including INDEPENDENT LENS and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. INDEPENDENT LENS: We Still Live Here - Âs Nutayuneân The Wampanoag saved Pilgrims from starvation--and lived to regret it. Spurred on by their celebrated linguist Jessie Little Doe Baird, the Wampanoag of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard are reviving their language more than a century after the last native speaker died. INDEPENDENT LENS: Reel Injun Join Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond as he takes a look at the HollywoodIndian, exploring the portrayl of North American Natives through a century of cinema and examining the myth of "the Injun." Cory Mann (Tlingit) gets hungry for smoked salmon and decides to spend a summer smoking fish at a family's traditional fish camp. Personal stories interweave as Cory struggles to pay his bills and keep his business afloat. An exploration of energy through the eyes of Native Americans as they reveal their quest to tap wind, solar, biomass and other power sources for their communities and cities across the country. Before There Were Parks: Yellowstone and Glacier Through Native Eyes Explore modern Indigenous perspectives on the great wilderness areas now called Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: We Shall Remain Five documentaries spanning 300 years tell the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the Native American perspective. Benjamin Bratt narrates. INDEPENDENT LENS: Lost Sparrow Three decades ago, two Crow Indian brothers ran away from home and no one knew why. Their sudden and mysterious deaths sent shockwaves through a tiny upstate New York community and their adoptive family. |
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